Pages

Tuesday, 31 July 2012

We have to wait for lots of things, some seem to take an eternity to happen and some not so long. Some periods of waiting are long but seem shorter because you are in good company as you wait or you have something else to occupy you while you wait.

I rarely go anywhere without a puzzle to do, book to read or something to plan & a list to make when I know there might be something or someone to wait for.I've waited for transport; I've waited for a journey to be completed; I've waited for an event to begin; I've waited for friends to arrive; I've waited for my mother while she was at hospital appointments; I've waited for my kids to get out of school or other events; I've waited for my kids to come home in the evenings; I've waited for my husband to finish a call for work so we can have lunch; I've waited for my father to come through an operation; I've waited for others when they've been busy talking to someone; I've waited for my husband to come home from business trips; I've waited at the dentist, doctor, hairdresser etc.Then there are the things I've had to wait for that have involved a long period of months or years like waiting for Christmas, a birthday, my wedding day, each of the children to be born, a holiday time to arrive. There are also things that we don't consider we are waiting for but they are going to happen, the main example being the death of a loved one.

During this month I wasn't waiting for the month to be over but now it is over and the time, as we are always saying, "has just flown". What did I do and what did I not do? What was I waiting for that happened or didn't happen?Well we had different visitors, we went to a wedding, we visited family etc. Those were some of the things we waited for and they happened. But what about the things that didn't happen? I waited for a good time to restart being serious about losing more weight - didn't happen, I waited for a good time to clear out the garage - didn't happen, I waited for a good time to think more about writing this blog - didn't happen until now the last day of the month. Why did these things not happen? Simply because I allowed them not to happen. Always saying "not right now, too much else to do", or "not today, there will be another day when I feel more like doing it". The whole month has gone and I could have done those things, but basically it was my choice not to.

We do not know how much time we have on this earth so what are we waiting for?

When I think of how easy it is for me to pass the month and keep simply putting things off to "another day" I can understand how many people put off thinking about the most important question in their lives -

what will I do about Jesus?

Putting it off to another day is not just setting it aside without a decision, like it is "pending", instead, it is the same as saying I don't want Jesus in my life. We cannot say "Jesus just hold on until I'm older, or until I have sorted out the rest of my life" it doesn't work that way. We are really saying "yes or no" to Jesus each time we put it off.

We do not know how much time we have on this earth so what are we waiting for?

The longer we wait to do something the harder it gets to actually buckle down and do it.

Wednesday, 25 July 2012

Daddy ........ Chips?

Our family loved it and forever, yes even still now we go "Daddy.......chips", when there are two things we would like but have to make the decision between the two.

Oh why can't things be simple we often say. Sometimes I am heard to complain why do things all happen together, why can't we have events spaced out more? Why does one week have to be very busy and the next one relatively free?

Why is it that when you want to go away for a while there will be something just have to occur in the middle of that time frame?

Last month we were so busy and made several trips back to Londonderry each just for a few days but for several months before that we weren't back there at all. Then I saw the clippers were coming into Londonderry at the end of the month but just felt that we couldn't really justify going back yet again. Sad to say we missed a really great event.

Sometimes I like to make the effort to do different things even if they are sort of smaller things but may turn out to be quite enjoyable. Last Sunday we went to Belfast to have lunch there with our son Daniel and then went on into the city centre to see the street theatre the circus school were organising. Fred was a bit dubious but I assured him we would have a relaxing time and be entertained. Well he enjoyed it - I could tell by how he clapped and laughed.

Now do we mention the restaurant or not?
Daniel says it is what you call modern /cool but I didn't think it was either. Food was okay, but I think that if I am paying to go somewhere and eat that I want nice surroundings and comfortable seats. I really don't want to be in a room where they have mismatched, chairs, plates etc.

Didn't have time to sample their coffee however and as it was an Italian place the coffee could have made a big difference.

I would like to go back to Belfast each Sunday afternoon and enjoy the Street Theatre so I'm praying for good weather each Sunday until the end of August.

It does make our Sunday rather busy though with Church in the morning, lunch, street theatres, preparation for the music for church in the evening and then church itself again. However every day can be busy and we need to remember to keep time in each of those days for God especially on Sunday but not just on Sunday and that is often where we have to make another of those decisions Bible Reading..........TV, Book, Tidy up etc.

Well we also had tea and biscuits after the evening service this Sunday so we didn't get home until after 9 o'clock to be greeted by the phone ringing and our oldest son Jonathan declaring
"Are you only getting in now? What kept you? Well my day has been busy!"
He just had to hold on for a while until I made a cup of tea for Fred and got a coffee for me and then we sat down and listened to his day.

There could have been the temptation to say.

Coffee........Jonathan ?

but fortunately for him there are some pleasures you can have together and not have to make the big decision, because that could have been a difficult one, seeing how fond I am of my coffee.